Another Word
by ella.fitzgerald
Summary: Series of one-shots of Anne and Gilbert as they find themselves in love, from Avonlea, to Queens and beyond. (Following the story from the series at the beginning, might take some inspiration from the book after their graduation).
1. County Fair

"- What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?"

As he walked arm in arm with Winnifred through the fair, Gilbert started to analyse Mr. Rose's question, one that, as he made very clear, was purely for humour purposes, right?

No, he couldn't fool himself. Although he was only 18, and even with the absence of a fatherly figure in his late teenage years, he knew the ways of courting. Or at least, he thought he knew.

One thing was for sure, Winnifred bloomed with the plans of introducing him to her parents. And now with Sebastian insinuations and mr. and mrs. Rose's little jokes here and there, the idea of a wedding seemed more present and daunting than ever.

Not that marrying Winnifred would be a nightmare. She was undeniably really pretty, and her sense of humour and perky manners definitely caught his eye. But yet, he wondered of something wasn't missing.

Shouldn't the thought of spending his life by her side make him feel less scared or nervous? Perhaps... shouldn't he feel some sort of thrill while holding her hand?

He honestly didn't know what to expect of love. Was it a synonym to attraction and fondness? Was there more to it than enjoying spending time together?

Gilbert woke from his thoughts as they approached a small crowd gathered in front of a wooden stage. Apart from a few fellas, he recognized Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert, who waved for them to come closer as they excitedly waited for Anne's "Mary's cake" to be judged.

Anne... Perhaps her idealistic views on love were rubbing off on him. After all, Anne was one to always fantasise about heroic romances, and, as she approached them eagerly with rosy cheeks and her flaming hair running loose on her back, he started to wonder if someone would try to turn her love stores into reality sooner than later.

And at that very moment, with an odd feeling, he also realised that he preferred when her hair was kept in braids.

At that same night, as he laid on his bed looking at the ceiling, he let his thoughts run wild. And even though he fought against it, the image of her kept coming back. Her puzzled look as he introduced her to Winnie. And then the odd response when he tried to comfort her about losing the cake competition. "That couldn't be it. I'm probably just twisting her words, giving it a meaning they don't have. That's the same girl that dismissed your company before. That avoided even talking to you for almost a year. That's Anne, for heaven's sake."

And as to give validation to his thoughts, he proceeded to remember how smiley she was when dancing with Charlie Sloane. He couldn't recall if she smiled as much when practicing the Dashing White Sergeant with him, on a friday class.

But at the same time, he couldn't forget how her eyes would not leave his own, how unaware he was of anything but that. How easy it was to leave all their past and history behind and just live the moment. How small her hand felt on his own...

He stopped his train of thoughts as he felt his heartbeat running faster, half surprise, half angry and ashamed at his own feelings. It wasn't his hand that she was holding at the fair.

Furthermore, his talks with Bash made him realise that he shouldn't take those feelings so seriously. They would've probably already faded away if he didn't visited them quite so frequently.

And even if those confusing thoughts would mean anything, he shouldn't mistake them with something as complex as love. He couldn't imagine a future where him and Anne would be able to talk for two minutes without fighting, moreover to marry and spend a life together. So, if not love, how would he find another word for it?

The unlikeness of the whole situation gave him half a chuckle. Closing his eyes in a hope to clear his mind, he assured himself that he was in the right path with Winnie and tried to fall asleep.


	2. Something New

**A/N: **Hi! Thanks to everyone that took a minute to read this story and to the lovely people that left the kind reviews. This is my first time uploading a fanfic and english isn't my first language, so please excuse any mistakes along the line. This chapter is a little shorter, but I really love the scene that inspired it. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

A cold wind howled and blew their scarves to the left as they went up the stairs to the somewhat unplanned gathering at Miss Stacy's home. They had much to celebrate, after all.

In the midst of a tumultuous week, Gilbert was happy that everything turned out well at the end. He didn't knew what the future holded, but at that afternoon, when all of his peers came together to fight for something they all loved - the right to express themselves on their school's newspaper - he felt courage to face whatever might come next.

Doing an effort to make a change, and doing so in such a defiant, almost rebellious way, was having an amazing effect on his mood. "Perhaps the victory of the day may also have an effect on Anne's fiery temper", Gilbert thought with humour as he watched her cross Miss Stacy's living room to serve herself another glass of cranberry juice. Unawarely, his eyes had been following her moves every now and then, but the subject of his attention was too lost in her own mind to notice it.

In the recent developments, their so called truce, which had been through some rocky roads before, was looking stronger by the minute.

So it was probably that, or perhaps the cold air of the night, or the almost cloudless sky, that gave him courage to follow her when she quietly crossed the door from the living room to the balcony on her own.

He planned something to say, some safe small talk that wouldn't risk the progress on their friendship, but it all got scrambled on his mind as he went through the little porch to stand beside her.

\- You sure pulled that off.

**\- We** did. - She corrected, and he noticed the same affability in her voice that had been there in the last couple of days. Perhaps, there might really be some change in the wind. Testing the waters, he took a sit by her side, and after some playful exchanges, he started to feel more relaxed.

\- After all these years, who knew we'd make such a good T-E-A-M? - He said, remembering with fondness their foolish rivalry in school. He knew she remembered it too, before her small laugh changed into something else.

And her eyes were resting so sincerely on his own that a thought came to his mind before he could try to dismiss it. At that moment, he couldn't ignore anymore what his heart already knew.

"What would she do if I kissed her right now?"

His body felt alive with his thoughts, as if every cell started to shiver in the rhythm of his own speeding pulse. A feeling he didn't remembered ever feeling before.

As if reading his mind, Anne glanced at his lips, and he could've sworn she felt the same thing. Taking a quick nervous breath, she proceeded:

\- Winnifred is a lucky girl. Thank you for today, and everything... I should get back.

He felt almost hurt watching her leave, and trying to control the mess of his thoughts, he silently realised that he had been doing it all wrong.


End file.
